https://wearethemusicmakers.co/latest Music tech and AI in music: the news that matters, what we think about it, and a directory of the tools. en-us Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/what-is-a-mechanical-royalty https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/what-is-a-mechanical-royalty A mechanical royalty is the money owed to songwriters and publishers when their song, the composition rather than the recording, is copied and distributed, whether on CD, vinyl, download or stream. In the US, streaming mechanicals run through The MLC. Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT We are the music makers format-referenceroyaltiespublishingmlccopyright https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/mechanical-royalties-and-the-mlc https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/mechanical-royalties-and-the-mlc Every stream of your song in the US earns a mechanical royalty, and your distributor and your PRO do not collect it. Here is what a mechanical is, how a self-administered writer joins the MLC and registers or claims works in its portal, what MCPS and CMRRA do outside the US, and the order we would do it in. Sat, 24 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers royaltiespublishingmlcworkflows https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/suno-mlc-distrokid-subpoenas-data-war https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/suno-mlc-distrokid-subpoenas-data-war In the same week, Suno asked a Nashville court to force the MLC to hand over years of streaming data, and UMG and Sony asked a Manhattan court to force DistroKid to hand over its AI-detection numbers. Both sides want the data that will decide whether AI music has harmed the market. The artists whose plays and uploads fill those tables can't see any of it. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 06:00:00 GMT We are the music makers industrysunodistrokidmlcfair-useai-music https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/spotify-bundle-mlc-ruling https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/spotify-bundle-mlc-ruling A New York federal judge has refused to let the Mechanical Licensing Collective appeal early against the ruling that Spotify Premium is a "bundle" with audiobooks, which lets Spotify pay US songwriters a lower mechanical rate. The judge also threw out Spotify's "unclean hands" defence. Songwriters now wait for the whole case to finish, even though subscription prices rose again in February. Mon, 07 Sep 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryspotifysongwritersroyaltiesmlc https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/reading-royalty-statement-line-by-line https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/reading-royalty-statement-line-by-line One stream can show up on three statements, from your distributor, your PRO and the MLC, because it earns money for the recording and twice over for the song. Here is how to read each statement line by line, using a clearly labelled mock statement, and how to spot the errors that cost independent artists money. Mon, 24 Aug 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers workflowsroyaltiesdistributionpublishingmlcartist-rights https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/mlc-unclaimed-mechanicals-market-share-2027 https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/mlc-unclaimed-mechanicals-market-share-2027 The Mechanical Licensing Collective plans to start paying out unmatched and unclaimed US streaming mechanicals by market share in 2027, beginning with January 2021 usage. Money that nobody has claimed by then goes to whoever already earns the most. Here is how to register, match and claim before it does. Mon, 03 Aug 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightsmlcsongwritersroyaltiesmechanicals